I love avocados, sometimes (read: daily) stand on my head to get my creative juices flowing, and I could listen to The Beatles sing, “I’ve Just Seen A Face” everyday, for the rest of forever.

Wondering what goes on here? Yup, so are the rest of us.

1. I am a lifestyle photographer. I have the most remarkable clients in the world, and I share their images here to inspire us all to live life with greater love, meaning and joy.

2. I am a writer. This blog is full of many of the curious thinks I have thunk.

3. I am a speaker and life/business consultant. I post upcoming speaking engagements and consulting information here as well.

4. I am most fulfilled by my work as a wife and mother to my 4 sons, one of whom now lives in Heaven. I share bits and pieces of our journey here on this blog. Including our ongoing struggle with grief, our experiences with ADHD and SPD, and our solid faith in a God much bigger than the challenges we face.

But ultimately, I hope that this blog is about something much bigger than all of that.My dream is for this blog to be a place where real life comes to be celebrated and enthusiastically embraced. Not just the pretty stuff, with tailored hems, clean lines,and the new colors for spring . . . but everything else, too. The frazzled mornings, broken hearts, crazy dreams, messy kitchens. . . even the fear, failure, hopelessness and devastation. I want this blog to be a place for every bit of what makes us all living, breathing, feeling human beings, experiencing together this remarkable thing called life.

May this be a place of passion, purpose, laughter, tears, friendship, encouragement and inspiration for us all.

In 2010, our perfect *”Baby Gavin” returned to Heaven after losing a courageous battle with **Pertussis (whooping cough). We are eternally and profoundly grateful to the thousands upon thousands (upon thousands) of friends and strangers from all over the world, of all faiths and creeds, who united with our family in prayer during Baby Gavin’s horrific illness and who grieved with us and continued to petition God in our behalf during the dark days following his tragic death. You may read Gavin’s story as it unfolded by visiting my old blog here. I am committed to sharing my ongoing struggles with grief and our journey toward joy here on the new blog. I am always humbled and amazed by the continued outpouring of love and support. Thank you for sharing in our journey and inspiring us with your unceasing love! God is good!

*My brother Gavin passed away unexpectedly in 2007. With all these Angel Gavins, it can get a little confusing at times, so just know that when I refer to “Gavin” I’m referring to my wonderful brother. When I refer to “Baby Gavin,” it is in reference to my perfect son, both of whom I cannot wait to see in Heaven!

**You will periodically see me blog about The Sounds of Pertussis campaign. I am an unpaid spokesperson and am only compensated travel expenses where applicable for my involvement with this important cause. Join our fight against this deadly communicable disease at www.soundsofpertussis.com or like us on facebook at www.facebook.com/soundsofpertussis.

Note: There have been additions to this post since it’s original publication (11:21, 2011, 6:55am HI time). They are noted in green. xo!

Yes, my hair is ridiculously long. Today alone I was referred to as Rapunzel, Cousin It and Amazon Woman. Time for a cut. But . . .this post is about waves (I’ll talk curls in another post).

I feel like there could be an entire series of books written on the science of a good wave; if there were, this would be chapter 1.

Step 1:

Wash only the crown of the head. If you can find a sulfate free (non foaming) shampoo, all the better! Rinse.

Step 2:

Heavily condition hair (excluding the roots*). I’ve found that sulfate free conditioner works the best, but the general rule of thumb for my hair is the thicker the conditioner, the better. Use your fingers to brush the conditioner through your hair and to get out any tangles. DO NOT BRUSH YOUR HAIR WITH A COMB OR A BRUSH. EVER. It separates the curls and adds to the frizz!

*It’s important that you completely avoid the roots as you will not be rinsing the conditioner completely.

Step 3:

Cool water rinse + second condition.

The heavier the flow of water, the less tendency it will have to separate the waves.

option 1- Take a cup (or bucket), fill with cool water, and dump on your head to rinse. Do not rinse completely. Allow some conditioner to remain.
option 2- Lie down in the bath tub and rinse using cool water and the full flow of the tap. Do not rinse completely. Allow some conditioner to remain.

Re condition the hair. Either with a very small amount of your regular conditioner, OR with a good, thick leave in. Avoid the roots, do not rinse. If you don’t have much curl/wave, you could omit the second application of conditioner. You don’t want to weigh your hair down too much. Another option if you’ve only got a little bit of wave would be to add your gel of choice (not water based) before or in place of the second application of conditioner. Play around with it a little to see what works best for you! I promise you’ll be able to figure it out. I have not met a single person who has tried some variation of these steps and has not been successful.

Step 4:

Do not touch your hair with a towel. Terry cloth is the frizz inducing anti-curl. I’ve read in a few different places (and once saw on Ellen) about people using paper towels to dry their curls in order to reduce frizz. I LOVE Mother Earth and do my best to care for her, but I’m not crazy green. However, even to me, drying your hair with paper towels seems incredibly wasteful.

Simply open the pillowcase and gently** allow all your hair to fall down inside.

**As a general rule of thumb, the less you handle your hair, the better. Again, do not brush your hair other than to finger out some tangles while you condition. After you get out of the shower, try to touch your hair as little as possible. In Curly Girl, the curly headed girl’s Bible (more on that later), the author says that in order to avoid frizz, you need to treat your hair like a nice wool sweater. Great analogy.

Step 5:

Squeeze the pillowcase around your hair. Do not twist or wring.

Gently gather the pillowcase to the top of your head and secure loosely with an elastic band. Allow hair to dry, then gently remove pillowcase. Bam. Frizz free waves*! You’re welcome!

*You’ll find that your waves get better and better the longer you stick to this program. You may not see amazing success right away, but as you stick with it, your curls will continue to improve. Scouts honor.

Additional Tips:

I often sleep with this bad boy on my head, but I’m a stomach sleeper and don’t toss and turn much, so it stays easily in place. You could also simply leave it in long enough to absorb the excess water, then gently remove and allow your hair to air dry. If you’re looking for added volume, at least leave the pillowcase on top of your head long enough to allow the roots to dry completely.

My hair is VERY long and VERY thick. It never, ever dries completely in the pillow case. Yesterday, I actually wrapped a thick beach towel OVER the pillowcase to absorb some of the excess water. If you are forced to air dry, which let’s face it, most of you will be because a pillow case is tissue thin, just avoid wind or too much handling of the hair as it dries.

The ONLY thing about this system that is a little bit hard to get used to, is that your hair will feel a little bit different because of the added product. I’ve NEVER used product much, so it was a little yucky for me at first. I’ve totally gotten used to it.

Melanie:
have you seen changes in your hair since you moved to the mainland? also, do you just comb it out in the shower? November 21, 2011 8:50 am

Liz:
I have weird hair - it's kind of wavy, but somewhat straight? Regardless it's usually got a frizz going when I don't bother to style-creme it (and I have kind of gone off those lately), so this was an appropriate post! Plus I actually have some thick conditioner. Going to try it out over T-giving. Thanks Natalie! November 21, 2011 8:53 am

jen lehman:
I'm totally going to try this tonight! I lost about 75% of my fine straight hair after a surgery two years ago. my new hair is coarse and curly, and I have had no idea how to take care of it (besides never washing, which is gross). November 21, 2011 8:59 am

echo:
i need to try this, but i am slightly concerned that my hair would NEVER dry. November 21, 2011 9:04 am

Jessica:
This post could not be any more timely! We have family photos this weekend and I've been all but stressing out about how to do my (like Liz's) semi-curly-semi-straight-WAY-frizzy 'do. I'm totally trying this stat! xoxo November 21, 2011 9:38 am

Tory:
stop it!! I am totally trying this tonight!!! I want to know about combing it too!! Do you comb your hair ever or just leave it? xoxo November 21, 2011 11:44 am

Natalie:
Echo, In Hawaii, it doesn't work to wear over night. Just use it to get the main drips out and then let it air dry. It's hard in HI, because of humidity and trade winds, just try to stay out of the wind, and it should work! I think your hair is the perfect candidate actually! November 21, 2011 11:46 am

Natalie:
Jessica, just promise me you'll try it BEFORE pictures just to test it out! November 21, 2011 11:47 am

natalie:
Tory, I finger through my hair when I'm conditioning, but I NEVER separate the curl with a brush or comb! November 21, 2011 11:49 am

natalie:
Natalie, I'm testing to see if you get my response via email. Sincerely, Natalie November 21, 2011 11:50 am

natalie:
@Jen, Your hair will definitely feel a little different with all the conditioner. Not dirty, just like it has product in it. It took some getting used to for me, but I agree, I need to shower, so this is a good alternative to dirty hair that hasn't been washed. ;) November 21, 2011 11:55 am

natalie:
Melanie,
Yes, my hair is less frizzy here in AZ. BUT there is also less curl, so it's a trade off. ;) And I NEVER comb or brush my hair. I finger through it while I'm conditioning. Brushing and combing separates my curl too much. November 21, 2011 11:56 am

steff:
some curly girls swear by the denman brush. i only brush while i am sopping wet to untangle. i get some crazy crazy knots! November 21, 2011 3:42 pm

natalie:
Steff, I can't brush at all or I frizz. I get crazy tangles too, but i just finger through them. It HURTS like MAD and takes an eternity, but it keeps the frizz away! November 21, 2011 5:18 pm

Sara S:
What shampoo and conditioner do you recommend? I'm going to try this, either mousse makes my hair crunchy when it dries or it's a a frizzy mess like those troll dolls. I need to do something different! November 21, 2011 6:14 pm

Natalie:
Sara, I've done it with all kinds of shampoo and conditioner! Cheap to expensive. How curly is your hair? I just bought some new shampoo and conditioner that is sulfate free and is specifically for curls. I'm testing it out this week and plan to blog about it once I've seen how it does for me! November 21, 2011 9:45 pm

Jessica in Canada:
Yes, what shampoo & conditioner do you like? Thanks for all the tips! I have one tip for you to make this cheaper: http://simplemom.net/how-to-clean-your-hair-without-shampoo/
I procrastinated trying this for so long because of all my frizz, I thought "how can I ever do without conditioner?" but I after a year I was desperate and tried it out and my hair is the easiest to manage that it ever has been! And no more using copious amounts of defrizzer! And I'm saving tonnes of $ on not buying copious amounts of conditioner? (And small amounts on shampoo...) November 22, 2011 6:50 am

natalie:
@jessica, I'm testing some new shampoo and conditioner right now! I'll blog about it soon, but it is 'spensive! WOAH! November 27, 2011 5:21 pm

Sally:
Ooooh, I just happened upon this post and I'm trying this! All the girls in my family have beautiful, tight ringlets, and I was left with the wavy frizz! Now that I'm back in Hawaii, I need to take care of my curls and not let them fry out November 28, 2011 5:43 am

Jackie:
I started using the DevaCurl no-poo and one condition and it makes my hair look AMAZING. It is expensive, but so fabulous. My hair can air dry and look the smoothest it ever has--curly or straight. Totally worth the price to me! December 14, 2011 9:16 pm

natalie:
@Jackie, I just bought that too! I've been using it for a few weeks now. Agreed, worth the price 100%. I'm going to blog about it soon! December 15, 2011 12:06 am

Frizzy Hair be gone! – Sprout Shell:
[...] curly because it was more work than straightening it. But, when a friend of mine posted this gem: Frizz Free Waves on her blog I decided to give it another try. And, it’s mostly worked! I am able to have wavy [...] January 10, 2012 1:18 pm

Renee Austin:
I dry my hair with paper towels and it is amazing- BUT I use the same paper towels for months! I just throw them under the sink and they are dry by the next time I need them. May 18, 2016 7:59 pm